The present invention relates to off-shore power plants which are erected in coastal regions or in the open sea and float or are supported on the ocean bottom. It is the object of the present invention to erect such power plants with a high degree of efficiency and minimum construction volume.
It is already known in the art, how to construct an off-shore power plant at the production locations of the fields and, instead of transporting the produced natural gas to the mainland, to convert it into electric power directly at the well head. The natural gas was to be burnt in a series of gas turbines operating in a compound arrangement. The efficiency of pure gas turbines, however, is small. A compound arrangement of such gas turbines also requires a large platform so that the power output per unit area is low.
Because of the high construction cost for the support structures, minimum construction volume is desired for off-shore power plants.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an off-shore power plant which meets this requirement.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an off-shore power plant which may be economically fabricated and readily serviced for maintenance.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an off-shore power plant of the foregoing character, which is constructed to have a substantially long operating life.